Spen Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Sorry to post here and not the brake forum, I just thought it's also to do with the service I've been recieving and people should know. Basically my discs were warped slightly when I bought the car unbeknown to me as I was assured by the salesman it had new discs and just needed to settle down. If you want to see the whole story look here: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=21893 Well after that little lot the manager never rang me back, I rang them and spoke to someone else who looked in the workshop to find they had been given the go ahead to repair my car (thanks for ringing to let me know!) that was after they aked me to pay half towards the £600 that it would cost them!!!) . When I said "oh so you are fixing it under the warranty for me then" he just said no its not covered under warranty but we are doing it to keep a good name for our company. He made out they were doing me a real big favour which really annoys me since they should have put it right for me anyway. ...... result though in the end all the same! Anyway after leaving work early yesterday I went back to derby to collect the car. Took it easy for 40ish miles but tried to build the heat up a bit where I could. The problem now is I have a shake in my steering wheel above 50 which turns into a vibration at 70mph. To me it feels like wheel balance...bizarre as It was as smooth as silk just crusing along before. Also my pedal has about 1-1.5inch travel where it feels very spongey before I feel any pressure under the pedal. I thought maybe they just need to settle down so took the car out again last night and did a few braking sessions from 60 down to 10/20mph starting off slower to build the heat gradually and never going too over the top with the braking. Pulled up at the side of the road and the discs were starting to turn a nice blue colour and had some smoke. Came to work in it this morning and still the pedal is mega spongey. So now I've had to ring them again and I'm taking the car Friday afternoon to have a look. I even spoke to the top chap in the workshop who insists they wouldn't have disturbed the hydraulics so they shouldn't need bleeding. What do you think the outcome will be?? I hope its nothing more serious since I didnt have these probs before it went in! I really hoped after all the previous hassle of getting this sorted I could have drove away from there feeling a bit better about things and all I have now is more probs! Such a shame because I love my Z to bits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 undo the lid on the brake fluid reservoir and press the pedal a couple of times. Hopefully this should sort out the sponginess of the pedal as it is something you need to do when changing the pads. unsure on the vibration, Is it worse when braking. Check the wheel nuts are tight. Wheel balancing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spen Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 Thanks for that Mike, I'll give that a go on my way home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 Thanks for that Mike, I'll give that a go on my way home. do it while parked up. NOT while driving. Just needs a couple of presses. You should feel the pedal getting firmer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spen Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 yeah I promise I won't try it while I'm driving It's just the boss might not be happy if I'm out there at the minute under the bonnet!! I will also check the wheelnuts, If it does turn out be be wheel balancing it just seems a bit strange unless they have somehow managed to knock some weights off the wheels when removing them to do the brakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 once the pedal is firmer put the lid back on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spen Posted May 20, 2009 Author Share Posted May 20, 2009 Wheelnuts are all tight so they are probably going to need to rebalance them for me. As the for fluid, I did what you said but It didn't make any difference. What I did notice was the fluid level was into the neck of the bottle well over the max mark indicating they have just shoved the pistons back without removing any fluid. Whilst the engine is running it's actually possible to push the brake pedal far enough down to the bump stop on the back....surely thats not normal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 no not normal at all. I would recommend heading back to the place that fitted them. Also ask do they road test after each job and if not they should. You after all are putting your life in there hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted May 20, 2009 Share Posted May 20, 2009 As Mike says, get it back and get it sorted. Sounds like they've torqued the wheels up incorrectly or wheels arent balanced properly. With brake fluid, it sounds like they've got air in the system which means they will have to bleed it all again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spen Posted May 26, 2009 Author Share Posted May 26, 2009 Took the car back on friday, ended up having to take the afteroon of work and sat there for nearly 3 hours while they looked at it. The workshop supervisor took the car out for a test drive and said the brakes feel normal and didn't need bleeding however he did bleed them after I pushed them to and said they felt far from right to me. Funnily enough they did actually feel better after doing that and he admitted it to. The wheels were balanced and he apparantly tested the car to 80mph with no problem .I left there in rush hour so didn't get a chance to get it upto speed until nearly home and guess what....still vibrating. I took the car for steady run round but a good few miles at the weekend to get a feel of the brakes and gradually they started to go a little spongey once again. Today I was on a dual carrigeway and had to brake before comeing off a slip road. (not hard I must add) and the car pulled pretty violently to the right. Now even at 30/40mph when applying the brakes the first bit of travel goes firmer and pulls the car to the side slightly and then the pedal goes soft until finally a little lower down it feels firmer and the car brakes in a straight line. Rang them up yet again and get no concern or apologies from them and all they can say is I need to take it back again. I wanted a courtesy car and they can't give me one until 18th June! so thats now when the cars booked in and I really really don't have any cofidence in them anymore. He even made it sound like they had only bled the 2 front calipers. Isn't it normal practice to bleed all 4 corners in the correct order!!!?? I rang Nissan Customer service and explained the whole situation and they noted it all down and also said I am doing right in taking it back to sunwin derby as any other garage (closer to me) would try and charge me and they said they would be in touch with the garage before my car goes in and whilst it's there to see what they are actually doing. They will then keep me informed. Now I feel I can't really even drive the car until then as it doesn't feel safe over 40mph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P15UL T Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 after changing my calipers over and bleeding the brakes 4 times with no joy i had to end up having the car running whilst bleeding to keep the pump going, i know to bleed them you shouldnt have to but so much air got in and traveled round the system that this was the only thing that sorted it, whilst not having full braking abilities i found my car was unsteady no that could be down to me changing my patteren of braking due to the spongyness or it could have been one caliper getting more presure than the other which would result in pulling the car to one side. and yes there is a certain order to bleed the calipers in and you need to do both bleed nipples on each brembo caliper Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Tell them you need to bleed them all and in the correct order. When TGM did mine, we did it right and in the right order and it didnt feel right. Went back again and we had another bash and this time a bit more air came out. The Zed is a pig to bleed and it needs really quite a lot of fluid to flush out any air if there is some in the system. Unfortunately you need to just keep taking it back until they have it all sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H5 Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 Also check that none of the wheel weights have been knocked off the wheels.... The only other thing I can think of is that the inner brake pad does wear quicker than the outers, what happened with the pads when the disks were changed? If one of the disks wore the pad in an odd way on one side you could have a very small contact area pad to disk on that side hence the car pulling under braking...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spen Posted May 26, 2009 Author Share Posted May 26, 2009 They took the wheels to a tyre place because they couldn't do them on site and had them re balanced and I can see the brand new weights stuck on them and the problem still exists. With regards to pads they told me they changed those when doing the discs but I have had to take there word for it because they look about as meaty as the old pads were before it went in. They do seem to have all fresh copper grease on though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ersen.o Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 front tracking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spen Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share Posted May 27, 2009 front tracking? Definately a thought, I did think they could have done something if they needed to force the caliper bolts or similar. I think when it goes back I will suggest it to them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Rule number one: New discs = new pads. Providing new discs and pads have been fitted correctly then a proper bleed will get rid of any trapped air. Regarding vibes at speed: If this is experienced without braking then it will be a balance issue. If the vibes are only experienced when braking then it will be a brake issue. Also ask them to check that a small particle of rust or similar has not got trapped between the new disc and the hub as this would give you an imbalance due to the run out of the disc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
200sx Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 A sticking piston can also cause vibration when braking. If the one of the pistons was pushed back unevenly when the new pads were fitted it can stick. It could also be uneven pressure on each of the pistons especially if there is alot of air in the system. ie. air pocket at the top of the caliper. I have read before that bleeding the system on a 350z is a pig of a job. Good luck with getting it sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAYHEW820 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I've had this one with an old XR2i. One of you pistons is sticking but only when the brake is up to full temperature. Which is well annoying cause with this car it had warped discs, we fitted a new set and it warped again. In the end I had to give the brakes a good thrashin and drop it staringht into a MOT RBT and voila found that one caliper was sticking slightly. Only when very hot In your case once the excess heat window is reached then the problem only gets even worse and worse. Whichever corner of the car had the smoke you need a new caliper bud. It is further proved by your air build up in the system and giving you the dodgy pedal Such a school boy error from your dealer really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H5 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Sounds like a plausible explanation.... ^^^^^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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